- Date
- October 19, 1991, 11:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Montgomery, NY
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9122PPiper PA-24-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911019047219A
- Case key
- 37093
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot-in-command to correctly position the fuel selector when the right main fuel tank was exhausted, resulting in fuel starvation to the engine.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During initial climb, the engine quit then started again. The engine then failed totally, and the pilot elected to make a forced landing. During the descent, the airplane hit trees. Wreckage examination showed the right fuel tank empty, with no evidence of fuel leakage. The left main fuel tank was half full and both auxiliary tanks were full. The fuel selector valve switch was in the 'off' position, fuel boost pump in the 'on' position, and fuel strainer and sump void of any fuel. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no discrepancies. The pilot-in-command had a total of 2 flight hours in this type of airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9122P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4601
- Airframe hours
- 3,532
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- David H. Balsan
- Registered owner
- Klaus Reyroth
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2000 · 6 hours before
- Destination
- 41N · West Milford, NJ
- Airport
- MGJ · Orange County, runway 21, 5,006 × 100 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 850 total · 2 in this make and model · 700 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.